Sherdog.com’s 2014 Robbery of the Year

5. Alan Patrick Silva Alves vs. John Makdessi
UFC 169
Feb. 1 | Newark, N.J.

Alves remains undefeated heading into 2015, but popular opinion on his performance against Makdessi at UFC 169 in February was that he warranted a unanimous decision loss, not a win.

All three judges appointed by the New Jersey commission did not see it that way, though, scoring the fight in favor of the Brazilian. Judges Ricardo Almeida and Sue Sanidad saw the fight 29-28, giving Alves rounds one and three, while Cardo Urso awarded all three rounds to the victor. It is worth pointing out that Sherdog.com virtual scorers Chris Nelson, TJ De Santis and Jordan Breen all scored the fight for Makdessi. In fact, a quick glance at MMADecisions.com reveals that the scrap was one of the most disputed of 2014, with every member of the media who scored the fight seeing it in favor of the Canadian.

The statistics tell an important story, as Makdessi pecked away at his opponent using a wide array of kicks and punches, managing to use his range and avoid nine of Alves’ 11 takedown attempts. According to FightMetric figures, “The Bull” outstruck Alves in all three rounds: 16 to 13 in the opener, 20 to nine in the second and 25 to 18 in the third. Still, the 29-year-old Tristar Gym member’s three-fight winning streak was brought to a close in defeat, while his 31-year-old counterpart moved to 2-0 under the UFC banner. Neither man has fought since.

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